


oh, take me back to the start

by lazyfish



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Academy Era, F/M, Time Travel, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 12:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17425772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/lazyfish
Summary: After encountering a quantum bubble in his cryosleep, Fitz is sent back in time. Enoch brings him to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, where he encounters none other than Jemma Simmons on her first day of school.





	oh, take me back to the start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [besidemethewholedamntime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/besidemethewholedamntime/gifts).



> Quick thing! Fitz is in a relationship with _his_ Jemma because, well, he is, but he doesn't feel romantic feelings for past!Jemma because she's sixteen and that makes me uncomfortable. I had no idea how to tag this so if you have advice for which tag it belongs in please feel free to let me know in the comments!

“Leopold.” Enoch’s voice rings through his ears, and Fitz winces. It’s the first sound he’s heard in literal decades, and it grates on him.

“Enoch,” he greets, sitting up slowly. His head is pounding, and Fitz rubs at his eyes with the heels of his hands to try to clear away the fog of seventy-someodd years of sleep.

“We have an encountered a problem.” That was definitely the first thing Fitz wants to hear after his nap. He braces himself, but even with the extra preparation he doesn’t expect what Enoch says next. “We have encountered a quantum bubble in our travels. We have not reached the year 2091.”

“But -” Fitz splutters. He doesn’t even know what to say next. Quantum bubbles exist, but they’re supposed to be small - and they’re supposed to be  _ plottable _ and he can’t believe that there was no way for Enoch and his hyper-advanced technology to avoid it. “What does that mean?” He finally asks. Fitz isn’t used to having to ask others to explain things to him, but he doesn’t know enough about quantum bubbles to know what their encounter with one means.

“We have not traveled to the future. We are now in the year 2006.” Enoch purses his lips. “I have landed us in a safe location, near some of your known associates. I am hoping we can receive assistance from them.” He pauses. “Your human biology is not meant to encounter two cryosleeps in such close proximity to each other. You must rest before re-entering cryosleep, and I must find components to repair the ship’s tracking system. The quantum leap has damaged it.”

Fitz buries his head in his hands. He was supposed to be going to the future to rescue the team - rescue  _ Jemma _ \- and he had ended up going the wrong direction. In 2006 he and Jemma were just starting at the Academy. S.H.I.E.L.D. was still thriving - though HYDRA was thriving within it, he supposed. Fitz shudders at the thought, then withdraws his head from his hands. “So where are we now?” He’s a little afraid of who Enoch’s ‘known associates’ are. 

“We are at a location that your organization calls  _ The Academy _ . As I understand, there are actually several academies?”

“Three,” Fitz answers absently. If they’re at the Academy, then he can probably find someone who has the technical knowledge to help them. Maybe he can find Agent Weaver? Depending on when in 2006 it is, she might not have even met the younger version of himself yet, which could be either a blessing or a curse.

“Ah. Then why call it  _ The Academy _ , as if it was singular?”

“I dunno, mate.” Fitz stretches again before stepping out of the cryo pod. “Do you have anything for me to eat?” He needs a good meal to jumpstart his brain.

Enoch nods and leads him to a different part of the ship. Fitz takes a deep breath, ignoring a whisper in the back of his head. He doesn’t have time for anything other than solving the problem in front of him.

\---

Fitz feels ridiculous. He’s dressed in a suit, and sticks out like a sore thumb in a field of cadets wearing business casual. He also hates how  _ dirty _ the suit makes him feel, since it’s attached to memories of his Framework persona. Fitz tries not to think about that too much.

He and Enoch had agreed that Agent Weaver would be a good point of contact, as Fitz knew her, even if she didn’t know him. She also had a degree in xenobiology, so she wouldn’t question the alien aspects of his story.

The problem was, Fitz couldn’t remember where her office was. It had been ages since he had been at the Academy, after all, and Agent Weaver’s field of specialty was more in line with Jemma’s interests. He hadn’t ever gone to the woman’s office hours, except for when Jemma had dragged him along for a biotech question or two.

He’s walking through a corridor that he’s fairly certain leads to the office in question when he hears a sniffling noise coming from a nearby janitor’s closet. Fitz pauses. He shouldn’t involve himself more than he has to, especially since he can’t risk being seen by his former self… but it’s the first day for the newest cohort of cadets, and he knows how much he had felt like crying in a closet at times. Perhaps he can do some good - keep a brilliant scientist or aspiring agent from feeling like they’re out of place.

He raps gently on the door, but doesn’t receive an answer. Fitz figures whoever’s inside is mortified that they’ve been discovered, and is hoping that he’ll just be on his way. Again, he considers it, but something seems to be pulling him to stay.

So, he swings open the door.

Fitz gapes when he sees who’s inside.

“Jemma?” She looks just like he remembers the first time he saw her, in a pale pink blouse and dark charcoal skirt that are designed to make good first impressions. Her hair is falling around her face in soft waves, but that’s not what Fitz pays attention to. Her cheeks are red and tear-streaked, and she looks  _ miserable _ .

“How do you know my name?” Her voice is sharp even through the thickness of tears, and Fitz swallows.

“Your badge,” he lies. Every cadet wore one. “I have good eyes,” he adds when Jemma narrows her eyes at him. He really is too far away to have read her badge clearly, but he has to stick with the lie now.

“Anyone sitting here?” Jemma’s sitting on an upturned bucket, and there’s another one in the opposite corner of the closet. She looks at him cautiously before shaking her head, and Fitz settles himself on the bucket after closing the closet door behind him.

“First day blues?” He asks quietly. Jemma hadn’t ever told him that she had spent part of her first day at the Academy crying.

Jemma nods slowly. “I f-feel… very out of place here.” She says, swallowing hard. “I’m so much younger than everyone else, you know, and s-so…” Jemma sniffles. “I’m so far from home,” she finishes when she’s composed herself again.

“That’s alright.” Fitz wants to reach and take her hand, but he has to remind himself that while he’s married to the future version of Jemma, right now he’s twice her age, and she doesn’t know him at all. Even being alone in the closet with her is a little strange, bordering on scary. “We all feel out of place sometimes.”

“What do you know?” Jemma snaps. “I - I don’t even know why I’m talking to you!”

“Because sometimes all we need to feel better is a listening ear?” Fitz suggests softly. “I know when I first came to the Academy I felt the same way.” He’s going to have to be careful about his phrasing, since Jemma had studied a list of the Academy’s youngest graduates. She would know something was off if he claimed to be her age when he first went into the Academy.

“I’m brilliant, and I know that…” Jemma says, evidently satisfied with his answer and willing to share more of her fears. “But everyone here is brilliant. And they’ve had more time to work on their ideas, and if we’re all brilliant, doesn’t that really mean that none of us are?” Jemma huffs. “I don’t want to be crying in a closet, but it’s all rather scary, and…” She trails off again, and Fitz doesn’t try to finish her sentence, even though he knows how it ends. It’s all scary, and Jemma’s not used to being scared. She’s used to being challenged, but not frightened.

“It’s alright, Jemma,” Fitz says. He feels rather rubbish at this comforting shite, but he doesn’t know how to tell her that everything will be alright without sounding dismissive. He  _ knows _ everything will be alright, because soon they’re going to meet each other and go on the adventure of a lifetime, but he can’t well say that he’s her future husband without sounding entirely crazy.

“I know it is,” Jemma pouts. “I’m not a  _ damsel in distress _ ,” she adds disdainfully. “I just feel rather… stuck.”

“Then take a step,” Fitz suggests. Jemma narrows her eyes again, obviously trying to parse what he means.

“But what if -”

“The steps you take don’t need to be big,” Fitz whispers. “They just need to take you in the right direction.” How many times had Jemma repeated those same words to him when he was stuck in the middle of a mess? At least several hundred, maybe several thousand. “I do believe the right direction is towards the auditorium,” he adds helpfully. That’s where most of their orientation speeches had been held.

Jemma wipes at her eyes, straightening. “I look a mess.”

“Go to the bathroom and splash some cold water on your face,” Fitz advises. “No one will notice if you’re a tick late.” He certainly hadn’t noticed if Jemma had been late or red-faced on their first meeting.

“Okay.” She takes a shuddering breath, and stands. “Thank you, Mr…?”

“Hunter,” Fitz says, blurting the first name that comes to mind that isn’t his own. He wants to facepalm, but he can’t do that with Jemma still watching. She straightens her blouse and brushes back her hair before exiting the closet. Fitz waits another minute before following, lest anyone get any ideas about what they had been doing. 

Fitz turns back towards where he thinks Weaver’s office is, feeling markedly calmer than he had previously. Jemma’s advice to him was as good as it had always been. He’s certainly frustrated that he can’t be with her - the real her, not the past version - but he’s taking steps. All he can do is hope they’re ones in the right direction. 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, Rebecca my sunshine! <3


End file.
